“For, fighting, not with hands alone they came to blows, but with the head and breast and feet: with teeth, too, did piece-meal each other maim”
. . . . .
City of Dis (Capital of Hell) Another boatman, Phlegyas (mythological king of Boeotia; son of Mars; thrown into Hell for setting fire to Apollo's temple because Apollo seduced his daughter) arrives to take more damned souls deeper into hell. Why FiIlippo Argenti one of the wrathful in the marsh is singled out for mention remains an enigma, but apparently, he was a bitter enemy of Dante's and reveals himself as a man marked by all the passions, hatreds, and loves of his time. Argenti’s family opposed Dante’s return to Florence bringing in the theme of politics. Dante and Virgil move on toward the City of Dis, the capital city of Hell, where the sins of violence and heresy are contained. The mythological king of the Underworld (Pluto) is sometimes called Dis; thus this city is named for him. The damned souls refuse entrance - allegorically, this trouble shows that even human reason and wisdom cannot overcome every obstacle, and that divine intervention is far more powerful than anything a human can offers.